Jobless Claims Jump Up

March 28, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The number of US
workers filing for first-time unemployment benefits jumped up
by a larger-than-expected 4.7% during the week ending March
23, a sign that the much hoped for economic recovery is still
searching for firm footing.

According to the US Department of Labor (DoL), there
were 394,000 in seasonally adjusted initial claims, up from
the previous week’s revised figure of 376,000.

The four-week moving average, which economists consider
a more reliable unemployment measure because it smoothes
out weekly fluctuations, was 383,500, up slightly from the
previous week’s revised figure of 380,250.

States with the highest initial claims figure for the
week ending March 16 were Michigan, Mississippi, Arkanas,
Washington and New Mexico. Showing the largest drops
were California, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts and
Ohio.